Is SodaStream Healthy?

If you didn’t stop watching in the second half of the Super Bowl, you might have caught Scarlett Johansson seductively sipping a glass of bubbly SodaStream from a straw. We’re not averse to this type of marketing, but when ScarJo said that SodaStream is “better for you” and takes a stab at Pepsi and Coke in the uncut version, we wondered if that really was the case.

“I saw that commercial last night and actually thought their claim about being 'better for you' was bizarre,” says Mike Roussell, Ph.D., a Men’s Health nutrition advisor. Yes, SodaStream certainly cuts down on the amount of cans and bottles people send to the dump, but it might not be your key to winning the war against sugar.

SodaStream's cola uses a mix of zero-calorie Splenda (sucralose) and sugar, allowing them to deliver only 8 grams (g) of sugar per 8 ounce serving, compared to about 27g of sugar for a Coke. And if you break it down by calories per serving, SodaStream looks good with 35 calories versus nearly 100 calories for a Coke.

So you’re consuming about two-thirds less sugar with SodaStream compared to normal soda. That’s great, unless you find it tough to stick to that small of a serving size. And many people do, says Roussell. “If you buy a 20 ounce Coke bottle, you will drink all 20 ounces,” he says. “If you make a liter of SodaStream cola, you're probably going to drink the whole liter.”

While it doesn’t contain high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS), and there is a line of "naturally sweetened" flavors with no sucralose, in the end you’re still drinking sugar water. “When we are looking at the health impact on your body, does it matter is you drink a beverage that contains sugar that’s 55 percent fructose, like HFCS, or 50 percent fructose—like table sugar?” says Roussell.

This doesn’t make SodaStream pointless to own. “I have a SodaStream and love it,” says Roussell. “Having freshly carbonated water and adding a little fresh lemon juice is a great change of pace from regular water or tea.” He just doesn’t use it to make sugar-sweetened drinks with SodaStream’s various flavors. If you like making your own fizzy beverages, then aim to keep consumption to that one 8 to 12 ounce glass per day. 

If you want to find out the other hidden dangers residing in your foods and drinks, check out The Truth about Your Sweeteners.

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